Tag: dogs

I was packing up a lot of photo stuff, including various 4×6 prints when I came across this. It’s a poorly lit photo, I know (dreaded on-camera flash), and is totally not something I would include in any portfolio ever, but – this is you-know-who! So, here’s a fun diversion for those of you that have wondered if dogs can wink! Happy shooting!

As summer comes upon us, we are out and about much more often, taking more pictures and videos than ever before. This latest hardware review from Think Tank Photo makes sure we have the right gear with us without overloading us with every piece of kit. I took a look at the Slate Blue denim-canvassed variety of the Retrospective 7 and it came out with shining colors (no surprise there). Take a look at all the gear I included in the load:

1 SLR

5 lenses

Hoodman Loupe

Gorillapod

Flash Card Case

Headlamp

Battery Caddy

Leatherman

And there was room to spare. I also really enjoyed the sound buffering panels to silence the ripping Velcro sound if desired. There’s so much to appreciate here, it really needs more than I could say here in words. So, with that in mind – let’s take a look at a new format I’ve put together for hardware reviews: video footage!

The video may take a bit to load as I’ve covered this bag extensively, so it’s nearly 20 minutes long, but is only 115 MB in size. Enjoy the vid, and if you have any questions about it, feel free to post questions, comments or other feedback here! My only major nit is that the Retrospective 7 will not fit my laptop. If it did that, I could easily see this replacing my laptop bag for short trips. Since the pads are removable, I could easily make this a work bag too…and fit a P&S camera with my laptop, papers, and other info. I realize though, that they were trying to make it as cross-compatible as possible, but I needed just two more inches to get my Macbook Pro in this bag!

Another small nit is that I am not sure how I would be able to hoo my tripod on to this bag for carrying purposes. The new super light carbon fiber tripods are so light, I’d always rather take one with me than not, and in looking at the design, there’s really no way to strap that in. I did kind of re-purpose the sound baffles for the Velcro to accommodate my Gorilla Pod, which I guess is fine in a pinch, but a tripod is something that we should never really go into the field without if we can help it anymore, and it’s too bad Think Tank didn’t give us a way to hook it on here. (*Note* There are loops on each end where a carribeaner might work, but this would be rather clunky – I’d rather see some sort of tie-down on the underside.

Like I said in the video though – there’s more upsides than downsides, and I would definitely add this to my bevy of bags! However, as always, I’ve promised not to keep the gear I review – so it will be offered up in the next giveaway! When is that? Watch the video! 🙂

Thanks again to the folks over at Think Tank Photo for this opportunity to get a first look and hands-on experience with the latest in their gear! You can check out this bag, and any others from their line-up here. In the interests of full disclosure, the links to Think Tank Photo here are included as affiliate links, and if you do end up making a purchase through them, the prices are the same, but a little bit comes back to me to help offset the cost of maintaining this blog, the podcast, and the contest series! (Not to mention the video reviews I create here to share with you!). So, again thanks to Think Tank, and thanks to all the readers who take the time to read the content here, watch the videos, and enjoy the various vendors products in support of the blog. Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!